1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the control of a data recording apparatus for recording data on an image recording medium and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one means for changing the size of a photographic image plane, a photograph of a so-called "panoramic size", i.e., 13 mm.times.36 mm, is generally known, which photograph is taken by an image plane frame that shields a part of the upper and lower portions of a photographing aperture of a camera body. In a camera, which takes a normal size photograph, i.e., 24 mm.times.36 mm, as shown in FIG. 8, a panoramic adaptor 113, constructed as an accessory of the camera, is loaded into an aperture 112 on the film side of a camera body 111 in order to take a panoramic size photograph. The panoramic adaptor 113 has light shielding portions 113a and 113b, which shield almost half of the main body aperture 112 along its vertical dimension during full size photographing, and projection portions 113c and 113d positioned and mounted in the aperture 112.
A built-in type panoramic photographing switching mechanism of a camera shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 9 and front views of FIGS. 10 and 11 has been proposed. The switching mechanism comprises a control lever 12, which is slidably engageable with a camera body 11, a toggle spring 13 having an eccentric urging force from side to side along the direction in which the control lever 12 slides. A drive ring 15 is rotatably engaged with the inner circumference of the barrel portion of the camera body 11 and is securely held by screws 14a and 14b. Light-shielding plates 16 and 17 are slidably engaged with rib-shaped keys 11a of the camera body 11. Shaft portions 16a and 17a are engaged with shaft engagement holes 15a and 15b of the drive ring 15, respectively. The operation of the above-described panoramic photographing switching mechanism will be explained below. When the control lever 12 is manually operated to slide in opposition to the urging force of the toggle spring 13, the drive ring 15 is rotated via an operation portion 15c of the drive ring 15 engaging with a rack portion 12a of the control lever 12. Since the light-shielding plates 16 and 17 are able to move vertically in a direction at right angles to the optical axis along the keys 11a, the rotational movement of the drive ring 15 is a vertical movement relative to the light-shielding plates 16 and 17 as a result of the shaft portions 16a and 17a engaging with the shaft engagement holes 15a and 15b, respectively. The amount by which the light-shielding plates 16 and 17 enter the optical path is such that the photographing range on the film is 24 mm.times.13 mm. When the light-shielding plates 16 and 17 retract from the optical path, the aperture of the camera body determines the photographing range on the film.
Although it is possible to imprint data on a normal size image plane in a photographic image plane switching method of a camera in which a panoramic adaptor is attached, or a camera having a built-in panoramic photographing switching mechanism, most cameras do not provide the function of imprinting data in the panoramic size image plane.
As shown in FIG. 12, data is imprinted in a selected area of the normal size image plane. When the upper and lower portions of the normal size image plane are shielded, as shown in FIG. 13, in connection with switching to the panoramic size image plane, the imprinted data is in a light shielded area of the normal size image plane. Accordingly, it is impossible to imprint data in the panoramic size image plane.
Therefore, an imprinting apparatus has been proposed which is capable of imprinting data also in a selected area of a panoramic size image plane. An apparatus having a plurality of imprinting elements corresponding to various sizes of image planes results in increased cost, which is problematical. In the construction in which an optical path of an optical source of one imprinting apparatus is divided and the area in which data is imprinted on the film image plane is selected so as to imprint data, the amount of light for imprinting data for a normal size image plane differs from that for a panoramic size image plane because the length of the optical path, for example, is varied, which is problematical.